


all the time

by StarrySpectacle



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Aquariums, Drabble, First Dates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-13
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-07-23 18:23:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7475055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarrySpectacle/pseuds/StarrySpectacle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaoru didn't get nervous for dates. He just <i>didn't</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	all the time

Kaoru didn’t get nervous for dates. He didn’t. He’s had so many, he knows what to do and what not to do and definitely had no reason to get any kind of nervous for a first date. People were easy to figure out, and he did these all the time.

Unfortunately, not everyone was like Kanata. Maybe that was the problem; not that it was a guy (believe him, Kaoru could improvise however he needed to so he could prove a point) but instead that it was Kanata. His friend. A rather close friend, at that. He hadn’t felt like this for his other dates, either; all nervous and almost blushy whenever he stared at Kanata and was caught looking a second too long. It was oddly foreign to him in a way that made him hesitant to leave his phone in his pocket, that made his fingers twitch with the urge to just text Kanata that he was sick or make up some excuse and leave this scarcely thought-out date to be forgotten.

Things didn’t seem to like to go his way when it came to Kanata, of course; it was at that moment that, while he fiddled with his phone trying to scroll to find Kanata’s name, the very devil himself appeared almost out of nowhere, clothes looking damp and hair appearing to still be drying. Kaoru’s fingers froze on his phone screen, eyes widening as he took in Kanata. He carefully deleted his (polite) excuse for needing to go home and instead stuffed his phone back in his pocket. Then, adjusting himself in the few seconds it took to walk to Kanata, Kaoru was back to his normal self.

Mostly.

“Kanata-kun! I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to make it,” Kaoru grinned, raising his free hand in greeting. Kanata hummed in response, gaze drifting from Kaoru to focus on some of the advertising posters on the walls of the train station. He smiled slowly, head tilted up and just barely turned away from Kaoru.

“Hmm~ Kaoru, your phone...were you perhaps thinking about ‘texting’ me and telling me you were ‘ill’?” Kanata asked. Kaoru’s eyes widened and his cheeks flushed, though he tried laughing Kanata’s sly accusation off. 

“Of course not- I don’t back out of things like this. I promised you a date, and you’re getting a date,” Kaoru lied with a grin. Kanata didn’t even glance at him as he hummed again, evidently not seeming to entirely believe him. “...Well- we’re both here now, regardless, so we can get this going, yeah? I don’t like keeping my dates waiting, so…” Once more going without a response, Kaoru held out his hand to Kanata. Light green eyes swept over him for a moment, Kanata finally turning away from the posters to properly address Kaoru. Arms reached out to encircle his offered hand, and Kanata easily attached himself to Kaoru’s side, head tilted slightly so Kaoru could feel the water seeping into his sleeve.

“Yeah~ Let’s go, Kaoru,” Kanata said softly, smile working its way onto his face once more. Kaoru could only manage a nod, surprised by the sudden actions enough to render him speechless. He led Kanata, walking slightly ahead of him as he looked around for the directions to where he was taking Kanata.

“Ah, it’s this way- I got the tickets before, so we shouldn’t have to wait too long…” Kaoru didn’t bother mentioning the reason he had the tickets in the first place was because a girl cancelled on him- the day before, and all. It wasn’t enough time to properly find another date, and when he passed Kanata in the fountain on his way home, it had felt right to ask him, although being dragged along with Kanata hadn’t been the plan. Kaoru was thinking more of simply shoving the tickets off onto Kanata, leaving and escaping to spend the whole day at the beach. 

However, when Kanata smiled at him, eyes closed and expression serene as he murmured something about getting to go to the aquarium with only Kaoru being a once in a lifetime opportunity, Kaoru hadn’t been able to stop his heart from beating uncomfortably fast, nor had he been able to say anything but ‘I’ll meet you at the station at nine’ before hurrying off of the campus, face red and thoughts running rampant. 

A soft tugging at his sleeve brought Kaoru back to the present. He and Kanata had stopped walking just in front of the aquarium, and Kanata’s head was turned up to look at the poster showcasing the unveiling of a new jellyfish exhibit. Kaoru pulled the tickets from his pockets, nudging Kanata to move to the line so they could wait to go in.

This was foreign to him; Kaoru was almost never nervous on any kind of date he went on, but now he was getting second thoughts. What if Kanata was only doing this to humor him? Would he rather have gone somewhere else? Was Kaoru being an idiot by just assuming Kanata would like the aquarium? Pushing his worries to the back of his mind, Kaoru ran a hand through his hair and tried to avoid thinking too hard on it. It would figure itself out; it had to.

When they finally got inside, the date kind of _did_ figure itself out. Kanata was fine with waiting the lines out, and Kaoru was more than fine with lingering back, watching Kanata as he inspected each of the displays in the aquarium. Kaoru would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy that part; being able to see Kanata’s face, serene and eyes lighting up with each new species he saw, made his chest feel tighter and his palms get sweaty- definitely what he wasn’t used to. Then again, Kanata always seemed to have that effect on him.

It was only once that Kanata caught him looking. They had finally gotten to see the new addition to the aquarium, and Kaoru’s attention had been focused on Kanata. Unthinkingly, he didn’t even bother to hide his gaze. When Kanata glanced back and saw him staring, he only smiled, reaching out to link his pinkie with Kaoru’s before turning back to look at the jellyfish exhibit. 

“This is nice. I like being able to see this sort of stuff with Kaoru~” Kanata murmured. Kaoru flushed, face heating up and his eyes staying glued to the back of Kanata’s head. Awkwardly, his nerves once more getting the better of him, he shuffled to stand properly next to Kanata. His eyes moving to the jellyfish in front of them, he nodded.

“Yeah...I like it too, Kanata-kun,” Kaoru said quietly. Kanata hummed, seeming content with his answer. 

Pinkies linked, the two of them watched the jellyfish.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request from a friend that was a bit ago (i'm so sorry it's so late ;____; )  
> This is also the first time I've actually written stuff for Kaoru (and Kanata) outside of small rps so it was an experience. I hope I did them justice & you liked it!!
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated, and thank you for reading!! C:


End file.
